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UOikM ^«f>m".tt<zes or> Historical 
iaw^fma^lfs o^ Connecticut. 
HisWiCal landmarks <^ Co*n«cti*c*l_ 



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HISTORICAL 



LANDMARKS OF CONNECTICUT 



A FEW NOTES AND MEMORANDA RESPECTING THOSE ALREADY 

MARKED AND SOME SUGGESTIONS REGARDING OTHERS 

THAT MAY BE MARKED FOR THE USE OF THE 

UNITED COMMITTEES ON HISTORICAL LANDMARKS 

OF CONNECTICUT 



"What mean ye by these stones?" 

— Joshua iv, 6. 



NEW HAVEN: 
THE TUTTLE, MOREHOUSE & TAYLOR PRESS 

1897 



REFERENCES. 

In addition to the references named in the text, the following authority 
is referred to : 

Homes of Our Forefathers, by . . . . Edward Whitefield. 
Colonial Houses of New Haven, . . . Susan C. Gower. 

History of North Haven, Sheldon B. Thorpe. 

History of Montville, Henry P. Baker. 

Hinman's Early Settlers. 

Sanford's History of Connecticut. 

Dictionary of American Biography, . . . Francis S. Drake. 

American Additions to Library of Universal Knowledge. 

Papers and Records of New London County Historical Society. 



YORK PUBL. UBS, 
IN EXCHANGE. 



— 3— 



To the members of the United Committees on Historical Landmarks 
in Connecticut, and to others who may be interested : 

A meeting of the United Committees was held at the house of 
the Chairman of the Committee of the Sons of the Revolution, 
on February 12th ult., at which there was a full attendance. 
The Rev. E. S. Lines, of the Sons of the American Revolu- 
tion, was called to the chair, and Dr. George J. Holmes, of 
the Sons of the Revolution, was chosen secretary. Eight 
organizations were present by their committees. A letter 
was presented respecting the preservation of Indian names, 
and another letter calling attention to the march of the French 
army, under Count Rochambeau, through the State, and asking 
if some means could not be found for identifying the sites of 
their encampments. A free and informal discussion was had, 
and finally an Executive Committee, consisting of the Chair- 
man of each Committee represented in the United Committees, 
was appointed to order and direct the work entrusted to the 
several Committees by their societies. 

The following constitute this Executive Committee : 

Henry Baldwin, 260 Crown street, New Haven, Chair- 
man, Sons of the Revolution. 

Hon. Jonathan Trumbull, Norwich, sons of American Revolution. 
Dr. Charles Samuel Ward, 29 Park street, Bridgeport, 

Society of Colonial Wars. 

Capt. William S. Wells, 382 Whitney avenue, New Haven, 

New Haven Colony Historical Society. 

Col. Norris Osborn, 34 Trumbull street, New Haven, 

Founders and Patriots. 

MrS. ADRIAN J. MUZZEY, Bristol, Daughters of American Revolution. 

Mrs. Godfrey Dunscomb, 324 Prospect street, New Haven, 

Colonial Dames. 

Prof. Charles C. Stearns, 126 Garden street, Hartford, 

Archaeological Society. 

Judge SHERMAN W. ADAMS, Hartford, Connecticut Historical Society. 

I have hesitated in calling this Committee together for 
organization until I had enough in hand to form a certain 
basis for active aggressive work. I did not wish any more 
waste of time than was needful, and as there has been no 
money appropriated I wished to save all the expense possible. 



— 4— 

The following pages give a fair illustration of the matter 
that has been received up to this time, and comprises about 
half of what I have on hand. I would desire that the memo- 
randa may be carefully looked over, and that additions to the 
record may be made by all who feel interested to do so. I 
would remind the Committees that what we have, covers but 
a small part of the State, and that in some way we ought to 
visit every town and hamlet, and gather there facts of past 
history that it is possible to record upon the ground. As I 
now view it, it seems to me that we have entrusted to us the 
writing of the State history from the standpoint of " site," 
and placing memorials where every passer-by can for himself 
see and learn that which will teach him of the cost and the 
value of our free institutions of liberty. I feel that the work 
is one of considerable value, and that if possible we ought to 
be able to present a completed report by the time the next 
legislature shall meet in 1899 ; but this cannot be accom- 
plished unless every one is willing to contribute time and 
research. I would earnestly ask that those who possess in- 
formation, papers, letters or any matter that would aid in the 
development of the work would send the same to me, and 
which I will gladly acknowledge. 

HENRY BALDWIN, 

Chairman of the Executive Committee on Historical 
Landmarks in Connecticut. 

New Haven, April 14, 1S97. 






— 5- 



NEW HAVEN. 

The State House. 

The first State House was located on the Green and built 
in 1 7 17, not far from the corner of Elm and College 
streets. Near by it was the jail. In 1763 the " new Brick 
State House " was erected on the Green a short distance 
north of Trinity Church, the steps projecting out into 
Temple street. Part of the first floor was used as a din- 
ing room and ball room. In May, 1827, the Assembly 
passed a resolution that it was expedient and necessary 
to build a new State House for their accommodation at 
New Haven. Ithiel Town was the architect. The build- 
ing was 182 feet long in its extreme length, including 
the buttresses, the main building being 130 feet in length 
by 90 feet wide. The steps extended 15 feet beyond the 
buttresses. The columns at either end were seven feet in 
diameter, and including their capitals 40 feet in height. 
There were twelve windows on either side, beside those 
lighting the basement. The plan was similar to the Doric 
Temple Theseus, although most persons have supposed 
it to have been after the Parthenon. It appears to have 
been an expensive building, and large sums were con- 
stantly spent in repairs. In 1889, after considerable diffi- 
culty and opposition, the building was removed. 

The Isaac Allerton House. 

S. E. cor. Union and Fair streets. He was one of the 
Pilgrims. His name stands in the covenant made by the 
founders of the commonwealth between that of Elder 
Brewster and Miles Standish. 

The John Dixwell House. 

S. E. cor. of College and Grove streets. The regicide 
lived here for many years under the assumed name of 
James Davids, and died here March 18th, 1689, aged 81 
years. He was buried back of Center Church, and a 
monument was erected to his memory by his descendants 
in 1849. 



— 6— 

The Theophilus Eaton House. 

Elm street. The site is now occupied by "The Jones 
House," which was built in 1765. Eaton was the first 
magistrate and Governor of the Colony, and lived here 
until his death on January 7th, 1658. He was born at 
Stony Stratford, Bucks, England, and accompanied Dav- 
enport to New England in 1637, and was one of the 
founders of New Haven in 1638. 

The Elbridge Gerry House. 

S. E. cor. of Temple and Wall streets. He was a signer 
of the Declaration of Independence, Governor of the 
State in 1810, and Vice President of the United States in 
1812. 

Robert Newman s Barn. 

The position of the " mighty barn " is uncertain ; a sug- 
gestion as to its possible site is connected with the fact 
that the broad opening to the original 2d Quarter farming 
lands, now the entrance to Hillhouse avenue, was opposite 
to the present barn of Mr. Henry Trowbridge, on Grove 
street. The " fundamental agreement " which deter- 
mined the ecclesiastical and civil government of the 
plantation was made in Mr. Newman's barn, June 4th, 
1639. By it the elective franchise was limited to church 
members, who formally organized the civil state October 
25th, 1639, when their magistrates and municipal officers 
were first chosen. — Proceeditigs in Commemoration of the 
Settlement of the Town of New Haven, April 23th, 1888, page 12. 
Mr. Frederick S. Atwater names Colonial Hall, the 
home of the New Haven Colony Historical Society, as 
the site of Mr. Newman's barn. 

The Roger Sherman House. 

Built , taken down . He was the 

only man who signed the four great state papers : The 
Bill of Rights ; The Articles of Federation ; The Declar- 
ation of Independence, and the Constitution of the United 
States. He died here July 23d, 1793. 

The Nathaniel Turner House. 

S. E. cor. of Church and Wall streets. Having had expe- 
rience in the Pequot War, he was entrusted with " the 
command and ordering of the military affairs." He was 
lost in the "great shippe " in 1646. 



The Wooster House. 

282 George street. The house was the property of Major 
General David Wooster, who was born at Stratford, 
March 2d, 17 10. He entered the provincial army on the 
breaking out of war between England and Spain as a 
Lieutenant. As Captain he participated in Col. Burr's 
regiment in the attack on Louisburg in 1745. He became 
Brigadier General during the French war. When peace 
came he formed a partnership with Aaron Day and 
resided in the house on George street. He afterwards 
removed to Wooster street. This house became the 
property of Michael Baldwin in 1769, and was occupied 
by his descendants until long after the close of the cen- 
tury. It was taken down in 1895 to make way for the 
Zunder School. 

The Benedict Arnold House. 

155 Water street. Built by Arnold about 177 1. He left 
it in 1776. Noah Webster bought it in 1798, and he lived 
here from 1802 until 1812. James Hunt occupied it later, 
having bought it for $5,450. It was confiscated by the 
government after Arnold's treason ; sold to Captain John 
Prout Sloan in 1782. Arnold bought the land on which 
the house was built of Sheriff Mansfield, whose daughter 
he married. The house is now used for the storage of 
lumber. 

The Beecher House. 

261 George street. Built in 1764 by David Beecher, black- 
smith and farmer, a descendant of Isaac Beecher, one of 
the original colonists, who bought the land and built the 
house, where he resided until his death. The property 
was held by his descendants until after the close of the 
century. Lyman Beecher, the father of the Rev. Henry 
Ward Beecher, was born here on October 12th, 1775. It 
is said that the blacksmith's anvil rested upon the very 
spot where John Davenport preached his first sermon in 
New Haven. 

The Blue Meeting-House Parsonage. 

40 Ashmun street. The Separatist Society, afterwards 
the White Haven Society, erected this house on the 
property where St. Thomas Protestant Episcopal Church 



— 8— 

is now standing in Elm street near Orange, as a parsonage 
for the "Blue Meeting-House." Mr. John Curtis first 
preached for them and occupied the house. In 175 1 
Samuel Bird was chosen pastor, and to him the house 
was deeded, and he lived here until his death in 1784. In 
1768 he was granted by the Society "a dismissal," and 
he began here a general mercantile business, his study 
becoming a store. The British despoiled the store and 
house in the Tryon raid in 1779. Mr. Bird's descendants 
held it until 1849. The house was then sold for one hun- 
dred dollars and moved to its present location. Whitfield 
often lodged here. 

The Bontecou House. 

N. E. cor. of Olive and Wooster streets. The Bontecou 
family were sailors, and carried on an extensive trade in 
rum, sugar and molasses from the West Indies. The 
earliest member of the family fled from France in 1694, 
and made their home in New Haven. This house was 
built by Captain Peter Bontecou. He was born about 
1738, and married Susannah, daughter of Jehial and Mary 
Thomas, of New Haven, in 1762. When he built in 1770, 
he provided a cellar under his house large enough to 
store an entire cargo, and it is suspected that some articles 
may not have paid the custom house charges. When the 
Revolutionary war broke out, he was absent on a voyage 
to the West Indies, and returning he entered the port of 
New York and was captured by the British, who were in 
possession. They sent him to the prison ship " Jersey," 
from which he made his escape through Long Island, but 
he was attacked with small pox, and died in a tavern at 
Huntington, in 1779. Very few, if any, of his family are 
remaining to-day. 

An Old Coffee House. 

247 Church street. This house was at first the home of 
Joshua Chandler, who was a sympathiser with the British. 
When the invasion of July 5th, 1779, occurred, he with 
his family left New Haven with the retreating foe. Jabez 
Smith occupied the house in 1783 as a coffee house, and 
it was afterwards also by Jacob Ogden. It then occupied 
the present site of the Tontine Hotel. About 1820 it was 



— 9— 

removed to its present position, and afterwards was the 
home of the Rev. Leonard Bacon, and where he lived 
until his death. 

The Jehiel Forbes House. 

This is a stone house built by Mr. Forbes in 1767. It is 
said to be still owned by his descendants. It was occupied 
by his son Samuel, and later by Betsey Bradley, the 
daughter of Samuel. It is one of the houses despoiled 
by the British. 

The Admiral Foote House. 

Fair street. On September 12th, 1806, Andrew Hull 
Foote was born. His father was Samuel Augustus Foote, 
who died September 15th, 1846. His father was the 
Governor of the State from 1834-1835. Admiral Foote 
was an acting midshipman in the navy in 1822, and during 
the war distinguished himself and became rear admiral. 
He died at the city of New York from the effects of a 
wound he had received at Fort Donaldson June 26th, 
1863. 

The Hillhouse House. 

83 Grove street. Built by James Abraham Hillhouse in 
1762, and lived in it until his death in 1775. After his 
death it was occupied by his widow until her death in 
1822. James Hillhouse, their nephew, spent the early 
years of his life here. It has since been the " Grove Hall 
Seminary " for the education of young ladies, and now 
is used as a boarding house. 

The Hull House. 

283 George, N. W. cor. of College street. Erected about 
1760 by Joseph Hull. The land on which it stands has 
been in the possession of the family for nearly two hun- 
dred years. 

The Jones House. 

It occupies the site of the house of Governor Eaton 
referred to above. Built in 1765 by Isaac Jones, a great 
grandson of William Jones and Hannah Eaton, daughter 
of the Governor. It was occupied by the Jones family 
until after the year 1800. 



The Pierpont House. 

73 Elm street. The land was deeded by the Town of New 
Haven to John Pierpont as a portion of his ministerial 
settlement on September 25th, 1685. It is said that this 
is the only deed that has ever been given for the property 
up to the present time. The building was commenced in 
1764 and finished in 1767. 

The Pinto House. 

This was the first brick house erected in New Haven. 
The brick were imported, and the house built by Jacob 
Pinto in 1745. It is at 535 State street. 

A Tory Tavern. 

87 Elm street. 1772-1776. Nicholas Callahan, a loyalist, 
here kept a tavern, which became the resort of the tories. 
In 1781 it was confiscated. In 1 791 it was purchased by 
William McCracken, and sold by him in 1792 to Jonathan 
Mix, who retained the ownership for many years. 

The Trowbridge House. 

175 Meadow street. Built by Thomas Trowbridge, Jr., 
in 1684. It is the oldest house standing in New Haven. 
In 1748 it was in the hands of Stephen Trowbridge. A 
few years ago it was moved back on the rear of the lot. 

The Rutherford Trowbridge House. 

295 West Water street. It was the second brick house 
erected in the city, put up by Rutherford Trowbridge in 
1774. Captain Rice, a tory, saved this house from being 
despoiled by the British, being a personal friend of Mr. 
Trowbridge. 

The Thomas Trowbridge House. 

Thomas Trowbridge, a brother of Rutherford, built this 
house in 1774, and was living in it when the British 
entered New Haven. He was of those who helped repel 
the invaders, but was captured by them and imprisoned 
on the prison ship "Jersey," where he died. The house 
is on the corner of Christopher street and Columbus 
avenue. 

The Noah Webster House. 

N. W. cor. of Temple and Grove streets. He built this 
house, where he passed the later years of his life, dying 
here on May 28th, 1848. 



— 1 1 — 

The Eli Whitney House. 

N. W. cor. Elm and Orange streets. The inventor of the 
cotton gin died here January 8th, 1825. 

Governor SaltonstalV s House. 

Near Saltonstall Lake, East Haven. Was built in 1708, 
soon after he was made Governor. It passed out of the 
hands of the family in 1775. Gurdon Saltonstall was 
born at Haverhill, Mass., March 27th, 1666. He grad- 
uated at Harvard in 1684, ordained a minister at New 
London November 25th, 1691. He was Governor of 
Connecticut from 1707 until his death, October 1st, 1724. 



MEMORIALS IN AND AROUND NEW HAVEN. 

The First Sabbath, Tablet Commemorating. 

Inserted on the George street side of the brick building 

on the N. E. cor. of George and College streets. John 

Davenport here preached his first sermon under the trees : 

" 1888 ; The Founders of this Town Landed near this 

Spot ; Assembled here, For the Worship of God, 

on their First Sunday, April 26, 1638." 

The "Bacon" Historical Tablet. 

Encircling the top and sides of the center window over 
the center doorway of the Center Church : 

" Quinnipiack Chosen for Settlement A. D. 1637. 
Named New Haven A. D. 1640." 

(The inscription is too long to be all repeated here.) 

. John Dixwell Monument. 

White marble monument to John Dixwell, the regicide, 
erected by his descendants in 1847, and enclosed with an 
iron railing. He lived in New Haven under the name of 
John Davids, and died at the age of 81 years, March 18th, 
1689. 

Mat hew Gilbert Monument. 

His gravestone is said to be seen outside of the iron rail- 
ing in the rear of the Center Church, but showing but a 
few inches above the ground. He was the Deputy Gov- 
ernor of the Colony from October 25, 1639 until October, 
1643. He died here in 1680. 



— 12 — 

The Judges Cave, West Rock. 

On Tuesday evening, October 16, 1896, Mr. Horace Day 
read a paper before the New Haven Colony Historical 
Society entitled, " Whalley and Goffe." The following 
day the Society of Colonial Wars unveiled a tablet that 
had been inserted into one of the boulders on West Rock, 
and at 4 o'clock Mr. Charles Dudley Warner, of Hartford, 
delivered, at Colonial Hall, an address before the Society 
on " The Regicides." 

Fort Wooster Park Tablet. 

Bronze tablet unveiled by the General David Humphreys 
Branch, No. 1, of the Connecticut Society of the Sons of 
the American Revolution on July 5th, 1895, the one hun- 
dred and sixteenth anniversary of the Invasion of New 
Haven by the British. This location was formerly an 
Indian burying ground, afterwards called Fort Hill, and 
later Fort Wooster. 

The Columbus Monument on Wooster Square. 

Erected by the Italian residents of the city to commem- 
orate the " Columbian Year," 1892. 

The Soldiers' Monument on East Rock. 

Unveiled and dedicated June 17th, 1887. 

"The large statue erected on the bluff at New Haven to 

commemorate the soldiers of that district killed in the 

war, is not, as one would guess on his approach, Victory 

with a laurel leaf, but Peace with an olive branch." — Ian 

Maclaren. 

Monument to Ex-Mayor Henry G. Lewis. 
On the bluff at East Rock. 

The English Memorial. 

Colonial Hall, the home of the New Haven Colony His- 
torical Society. Erected by Henry F. English as a memo- 
rial of James E. and Caroline F. English. The deed of 
property is dated November 14th, 1891. The building 
was opened September 28th, 1893. 



—13- 



SUGGESTIONS FOR MEMORIALS. 

The Encampment of the Pioneers of New Haven. 

Six men under the direction of Joshua Atwater, a mer- 
chant of Kent, England, encamped near this spot in the 
winter of 1637-38. 

The First Burial Ground. 

The Founders of New Haven are at rest under and around 
the Center Church. 

The Tryon Invasion of New Haven. 

The old cannon captured from the British at the time of 
the invasion are planted as corner posts : 

Corner of Temple and Center streets. 

Union and Fair streets. 

Court and State streets. 
The first skirmish took place at the Allingtown Bridge 
over West River, and another skirmish was had at the 
Westville Bridge and there was also another stand made 
at some other point. 

The Bridge over Mill River near East Rock. 

It was under this bridge that the regicides secreted them- 
selves while their pursuers rode over the bridge, and here 
(I think) the local troops, with the college company, 
made a stand against the invaders who landed on the 
East Haven shore on July 5th, 1779. 

Governor Eaton s Monument. 

The tablet was taken from the back of the Center Church 
and placed in the Grove Street Cemetery. It should be 
restored to its original position. 

There are suggestions for monuments or statues of noted 
persons resident or born in New Haven, and also of celebrated 
occurrences that have happened here. 

The Franklin Elm. 

Planted April 17th, 1790, the day of Franklin's death, on 
the corner of Church and Chapel streets. 

The Beers Elm. 

On Grove street near the N. W. cor. of Hillhouse avenue, 
opposite Colonial Hall. 



— 14— 

YALE COLLEGE MEMORIALS. 

Yale College itself. 

Organized at Branford. 

Received its first charter from the Colonial Assembly in 
1701, and in the following year Nathaniel Chauncey 
received the first degree granted. The date of the passage 
of the charter appears to have been Thursday, October 
16th, although the official papers have the day of the 
assembling of the Court, October 9th, 1701. 
On the nth of November seven of the Trustees of the 
" College School of Connecticut," held their first meeting 
at Saybrook (now Old Saybrook.) They voted to fix the 
college at Saybrook, and elected Abraham Pierson, of 
Killingworth, as Rector. The first student was Jacob 
Hemingway, who was the first and only pupil until Sep- 
tember. 

"On the last day of September, 1702, eight of the Trus- 
tees met at Killingworth. At this time they took 
action to secure the formal conveyance of a small house 
and land, situated near the middle of the broad plain 
which extends to the Point in Saybrook, near the old 
burying-ground, which Mr. Nathaniel Lynde had offered 
for the use of the school, so long as it remained at Say- 
brook ; but the donor did not pass over the property 
until six years later." 

The first Commencement took place at Rev. Mr. Buck- 
ingham's residence in Saybrook, September 16th, 1702. 
The degree of Master of Arts was conferred on five 
persons. 

The first building for the college was one story in height, 
about 80 feet in length. Fifteen Commencements were 
held at Saybrook. 

The monument to Major General Hart in the ancient 
burying-ground at Saybrook Point, is said to be near 
where the old college building stood. 

There are a large number of memorials connected with the 
college in the city : 

Mary Hartwell Lusk Memorial. 

The Library Building and Reading Room presented by 
Simeon Baldwin Chittenden, in 1889, as a memorial to 
his daughter. 



—15— 

The Farnam Gateway. 

Memorials to Samuel and Elnathan Whitman. Erected 
in 1895 by Mrs. Ann Whitman Farnam. 

Pierson Statue. 

Bronze statue to Abraham Pierson, first president of Yale 
College. 

Woolsey Statue. 

Bronze statue to Theodore Dwight Woolsey, president of 
Yale College. 

Silliman Statue. 

Bronze statue to Benjamin Silliman, professor of Natural 
Sciences. 

John Trumbull, the Artist. 

He was buried in a vault prepared by himself on the Yale 
Campus, beneath what was once the ''Trumbull Gallery," 
but now used as the Treasury Building. He was born at 
Lebanon, June 6th, 1756, and was Adjutant General of 
the Northern Department of the Revolutionary Army, 
but retired from the army in 1777. He was the painter 
of the Revolution, and a collection of his works are in 
the Yale Art School. He died in New York, November 
10th, 1843. 

North Haven Memorial Hall. 

The Memorial Hall stands to commemorate the first two 
hundred years of the existence of the town. " Looking 
backward, one would not change its record ; looking 
forward, there is nothing to fear." 

One William Bradley, a reputed officer in Cromwell's 
Army, appears to have been the first settler within the 
town limits. He located on the west side of "East River" 
(Quinnipiac), between 1640 and 1650. 

The First Meeting House at North Haven. 

Erected in 1718 at the center of the tract devised by Mr. 
Pierpont, then called " The Market Place," and later on 
"The Green," and now "Pierpont Park." 



■i6— 



HARTFORD MEMORIALS. 

Wadsworth Mansion. 

June 29th, 1891, the Sons of the American Revolution 
unveiled a tablet to commemorate the old Wadsworth 
Mansion which stood upon the site of the Atheneum 
Building on Main street. It was the scene of hospitalities 
in colonial times, and afterwards LaFayette, Rochambeau, 
Chatellux and other French officers were entertained 
there, some of them several times ; and the patriotism of 
Colonel Wadsworth deserves recognition. The tablet 
was unveiled by a descendant of Col. Wadsworth, Gen. 
Warren and Gen. Putnam. 

Wadsworth Elm. 

June 29th, 1894, the sons of the American Revolution 
placed a tablet upon the Wadsworth Elm to commemorate 
the first visit of General George Washington to Hartford, 
while on his way to take command of the Continental 
Army at Cambridge. 

Putnam Statue. 

Erected in Bushnell Park by Judge Joseph Pratt Allyn. 
The pedestal was furnished by the city of Hartford. The 
statue is of bronze, heroic size, the work of John Quincy 
Adams Ward. 

Knowlton Statue. 

Presented and unveiled November 13th, 1895. Presenta- 
tion by Charles Dudley Warner, accepted by Governor 
Vincent Coffin, and an historical address by P. Henry 
Woodward. The statue is of bronze, the work of E. S. 
Woods, of Hartford. It was cast by M. H. Mosman, of 
Chicopee, Mass. 

Monument to Dr. Horace Wells. 

Designed by the sculptor Bartlett to commemorate the 
discovery of anaesthesia. It was put up by the State and 
city together at a cost of $10,000. It had originally a base 
of wood, but this has been replaced by a pedestal of 
granite. 

Brownell Statue. 

Bronze statue erected in Bushnell Park by Gordon W. 
Burnham, in memory of the Right Reverend Thomas C. 



— 17— 

Brownell, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Connecticut 
and first president of Trinity College. This statue was 
removed from its first location, and now stands upon the 
College campus. 

The Memorial Arch. 

To the memory of the soldiers who fell during the Civil 
War, completed in 1886. 

Statues in the State Capitol. 
Captain Nathan Hale. 
Governor William A. Buckingham. 

Trees. 

The New Charter Oak, planted in 1867, a seedling of the 

Old Charter Oak of 1647. 

The Bliss Elm in Bushnell Park. 
Bushnell Park. 

A memorial to Bushnell. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR HARTFORD. 

Charter Oak Park. 

The Park was sold at public auction on April 4th, 1896, 
to Col. Henry Kennedy, for $19,000, a loss it is said of 
$150,000. Col. Kennedy is a real estate agent at Hartford. 
He also purchased about the same time some thirty acres 
of land adjoining. The Park was purchased and used for 
some years, up to near the time of the sale, as a race 
track, and was recognized as one of the finest in the 
country. 

It is understood that the Society of Colonial Wars has 
secured the site of the " Charter Oak," and that it pro- 
poses in some suitable way to mark it. 

The Charter Oak. 

"You will probably have heard ere this reaches you, that 
the venerable Charter Oak, which has defied the blasts of 
probably more than a thousand winters, has at last yielded 
to time and the elements, and now lies a'huge ruin upon 
the ground. It was broken off about five feet from the 
ground, and when one looks upon the stump and sees 
what a mere shell the trunk was,- he wonders that it has 



— 18— 

stood so long. The hollow in the trunk has contained at 
one time twenty-seven full grown men. All the bells of 
the city tolled at sunset last evening, for an hour, in token 
of grief of our citizens for the loss of this relic of the 
olden time. I enclose you a leaf I plucked from it 
yesterday. C. J. H. 

August 22nd, 1856." 

N. £. Hist. <5r= Gen. Reg., Oct., 1856, Vol. X, No. 4, 
page 356. 
A seedling of 1847 from the Old Charter Oak has been 
planted in Bushnell Park, in the triangular plat between 
the Mulberry and Trumbull Bridges. 

The Ledyard Elm. 

It stood on the south side of Arch street, opposite the 
Lincoln Iron Works. John Ledyard planted it about 
1772. It became a very large tree. It was cut down by 
the Park Commissioners. Ledyard was a peculiar indi- 
vidual, and planted this tree to commemorate his visit to 
the spot to see his uncle, Thomas Seymour, the father of 
Governor Thomas H. Seymour. He was born at Groton, 
in 1751, and died at Cairo, in Egypt, in 1789. 

Foremothers' Monument. 

A committee was appointed at the meeting of the Con- 
necticut Daughters of the American Revolution, at 
Waterbury, on January 29th, 1897, to consider the feasi- 
bility of erecting a monument in the capitol grounds, at 
Hartford, in commemoration of the Foremothers of the 
D. A. R. 

Harriet Beecher Stowe. 

There has already been a movement made for the erection 
of a memorial to the author of " Uncle Tom's Cabin," in 
Bushnell Park, and some correspondence had in the pub- 
lic prints respecting it. The objections urged have, we 
believe, all been removed, but what progress has been 
made in regard to the proposed statue we are uninformed. 

The Old Dutch Fort. 

Erected at the entrance of the "Little River" into the 
Connecticut, by the Dutch from New Amsterdam in 1633, 
at "Suckiag," and which they called "Good-Hope." 

The First Meeting House. 



—19— 

The First House Built at Hartford. 

John Talcott came from Braintree, Essex County, Eng- 
land, with the company of the Rev. Thomas Hooker in the 
Ship " Lion," which sailed June 22d, 1632, and arrived on 
September 16th. He was a resident of Newton, Mass., but 
on May 1st, 1636, with about 100 others he left that place 
under the leadership of Mr. Hooker and went through 
the wilderness to the Connecticut river, where they 
founded the present city of Hartford. The year before 
Talcott sent the carpenter Nicholas Clark over to build 
him a house. The house was erected on the ground 
where the North Church now stands. Mr. Talcott was 
for many years styled " the worshipful Mr. John Talcott." 
The "Second" Centennial of the City of Hartford was 
celebrated Nov. 3d, 1835. 

The Thomas Hooker House. 

The building was two stories high. It stood on School 
street " on the North side of the high and romantic 
banks of Mill River." Thomas Hooker was born at 
Marfield, England, July 7th, 1586 ; he died at Hartford, 
July 7th, 1647. 

Houses of William and Richard Butler. 

These were the original proprietors of Hartford. 
William's house lot on west side of Front between State 
and Village streets. 
Richard's house lot east side of Main street. 

The Noah Webster House, West Hartford. 

Birthplace of the great Lexicographer, a descendant of 

John Webster, one of the early Governors of Connecticut. 

He was born October 16th, 1758. 

He died at New Haven, May 28th, 1843. 

Webster's father sold the house with 81 acres of land in 

1792 for $3,000 to Samuel Hurlburt, and in 1852 it 

remained in the Hurlburt family. 

The Encampments of the French Army. 

Rochambeau with the first division arrived at Hartford, 
June 24th, 1 78 1, and remained until the 26th. 
In 1783 the army broke camp at Compund, October 2 2d, 
and halted four days at Hartford. They reached Provi- 
dence on November nth. On December 1st they resumed 



— 20 — 

their march, the first division entering Boston on the 4th 
and their artillery, which marched as a separate corps, 
arriving on the 18th. They left the country in the fleet 
of M. de Vaudreuil on the 24th December. It is probable 
that the first encampment was at East Hartford. 



LITCHFIELD. 

The Governor Wolcott House. 

Erected by the first Governor Wolcott about 1753. It 
stands in the center of the village, and is a fine old house 
in a good state of preservation. 

The Gould House. 

Built by Elisha Sheldon in 1760. He came from Lyme to 
Litchfield in 1753, and became a prominent man both in 
town and in the State. His son Elisha was Major of the 
Connecticut Light Horse in June, 1776, and was made 
Colonel of the Connecticut Dragoons, December 12th, 
1776, and served until the end of the War. Washington 
while in Litchfield staid at this house. In 1780 General 
Uriah Tracy purchased the property, and placed its 
present high roof upon it ; afterwards his son-in-law, 
Judge Joseph Gould, having become the owner, estab- 
lished at Litchfield the celebrated Law School. It is now 
in the hands of Prof. James M. Hoppin, of Yale College. 

The Judge Reeves House. 

In this house was established the first Law School in the 
United States. The house was built in 1774. 

The Forts at Litchfield. 

The following letter of Captain John Marsh explains 
their position. 

Litchfield June ye 1. 1725. 
To ye Hon'ble John Talcott, Gov'r 

Sir ; Knowin full well ye interest that you, our lawful 
governor, doth feel and hath often exprest about our 
little settlement in the wilderness, I am moved to write to 
you about our affairs once more. Since I was honored by 
writing to you about twentie months ago, our four forts 
or Garrisons have been built, all but some mountes for 



— 21 — 

the convenience of Sentinnels. The Garrison at the west 
our towns men have named fourte Griswold, and the 
north one fourte Kilburn because of the godly~men who 
helped build them. The other fourtes one at the south 
end of the town and on Chestnut Hill. These Garrisons 
have done our settlers a great deal of good in quieting 
their fears from the wild Ingins that live in the great 
woods. 

But we have been so long preserved by God, from much 
harm, and we praise his name for it, and take hope for 
the time to come. Many of our people morne for the old 
home on the Great River, but Ave are agreed not to go 
back. 

About the moundes at the fourtes. I am entrusted by ye 
select men to make known to you their desire that the 
colony shall pay them. 

With many kind wishes the God will preserve you and 
his Colony for the working out his good pleasure 

I am most truly 

JOHN MARSH, Town Clerk 
Connecticut Quarterly \ Vol. II, No. 2, pages 223 and 224. 

Joseph Harris Monument. 

Mr. Joseph Harris, while at work on his farm now called 
" Harris Plain," was killed by the Indians and scalped, 
his body was found near a single elm tree in the lot east 
of the school house, and placed in a primitive coffin of a 
hollow log, taken to the West burial ground and there 
interred. Over his remains in 1830 a small monument 
was erected by voluntary subscription. 

Connecticut Quarterly, Vol. II, No. 3, page 223. 

The Calhoun Elms. 

They stand in front of the residence of J. L. Judd, and 
are two large trees which were planted there by John C. 
Calhoun, of South Carolina, while he was in Litchfield 
studying law under Judge Reeves. 



-22- 



TORRINGTON. 



The first land cleared and cultivated. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Torrington, held at 
Windsor, February 10, 1734, voted Lieut. Roger Naw- 
berry be a committee, and he is hereby fully empowered 
in the name of the proprietors to rent out to Josiah Grant 
of Litchfield, about four or five acres of land lying in 
said Torrington which is already broken up, as it lieth 
bounded south on Litchfield, east on Waterbury river, 
until such time as said proprietors, by their votes shall see 
cause to call it in. 

History of Torrington, page 12. 

The Fort at Torrington. 

The building of the fort was a necessity for the safety of 
the inhabitants. In October, 1744, the town voted thirty- 
five pounds six shillings and six pence, as one half of the 
cost of building a fort. It was located near Ebenezer 
Lyman's dwelling, on the west side of the present road 
at that place, and was built of chestnut logs split in 
halves and standing in the ground, rising to the height of 
about eight feet. The object of the fort was protection 
to the inhabitants from the ravages of the Indians, 
especially the raids of the Mohawks, which were made 
for one only purpose of pillage and destruction. 

History of Torrington, page 24. 

The French Camp at Torrington. 

In the early part of 1781, the French Army passed 
through Torrington on their way to join Washington's 
army near New York and encamped on Torrington street. 

History of Torrington, page 234. 



WINDHAM COUNTY. 

First House in Windham County. 

In February, 1675, Joshua, son of Uncas, the Mohegan 
sachem, by his last will, gave unto Capt. John Mason, 
James Fitch, and fourteen others, commonly called 
" Joshua's legatees," the tract containing the towns of 
Windham, which originally included the present towns 



—23— 

of Mansfield and Canterbury. In May, 1686, the main 
street in Windham was laid out, and fourteen lots for the 
legatees were surveyed. Other roads were made, lots 
surveyed, and purchases made for settlement within the 
next two years. 

Lieut. John Cates in the spring of 1689 dug the first cellar 
and raised the first English house. He was a Puritan, 
who served in the wars in England, holding a commission 
under Cromwell. When Charles II came to the throne, 
he fled the country for safety. He landed first in Virginia, 
where he got a negro servant, but when advertisements 
and pursuers were spread through the country to appre- 
hend the adherents of the Protector, he left Virginia, 
came to New York, and then to Norwich. Still feeling 
that he would be more secure in a retired place, he came 
to Windham, where he erected the first house. His monu- 
ment is in the burying-ground south of the village. He 
died at Windham July 16th, 1697. 

Connecticut Historical Collections, pages 44J, 444. 

Woodstock's First Sermon. 

Preached to the Roxbury immigrants on their arrival at 
Woodstock in 1686, from the top of a rock a little way off 
from the present main street. 

" Just previous to the Bi-Centennial celebration in 1886 I 
had chisseled upon the rock the following : 

1686 — 1886 
SACRED EVERMORE 

My purpose was to have had the further inscription ' From 
this rock the first sermon was preached after the arrival 
of the Roxbury settlers in 1686,' but my stone-cutter 
claimed the rock was so very hard he could not undertake 
the job. I think it would be well to have a tablet bolted 
to the rock telling the story of the sermon." — Hon. E. H. 
Bugbee in letter dated March 29th, 1897. 

John Acquittamaug. 

Tradition relates that Acquittamaug, the Wabbaquasset 
chieftain, had his wigwam, which was of kingly propor- 
tions, a little eastward of this rock (noted above). This 
was the Indian chief who, on hearing that the white 
people of Boston were starving for the lack of food, 
hastened hither with his two sons and other Indians, with 



—24— 

great sacks on their backs filled with corn, grown on 
their own fertile hills, for the relief of the white folk of 
Boston. The good heathen chieftain lived to be upward 
of an hundred years old, and at that advanced age visited 
Boston, where he was publicly feasted and entertained by 
the dignitaries of the colony. Certainly this good Saga- 
more, heathen though he was, ought to be remembered 
by your society. 

Hon. E. H. Bugbee in a letter dated March 29th, 1897. 
The Boston News Letter of July 1-8, 1725, has the follow- 
ing : 

"Woodstock, June 30. On the 21st instant, died at this 
place, John Acquittimaug, aged about 114 years, but the 
Indians say (and he called his own age) 123 years." 
Eastern Tavern, Plainfield. 

Built in 177 1, and was still standing a few years ago. 
Washington passed a Sabbath here in 1789. 

French Army at Plainfield. 

This was their second encampment after leaving Provi- 
dence on the 20th of June, 1781. They arrived at Plain- 
field on the 2 1 st. The "Army was encamped on the 
plains in the valley below the town, and . . . the officers 
were quartered among the best families on the village 
street." — Remembrances of a long life by Mrs. Sturgee (1894), 
page 82. 

Johnson House. 

Probably erected by Squire Howe about 1700. "It is a 
mile or two from Putnam, old and much dilapidated. 
Its only distinction is that just previous to the Revolution 
Deputy Governor Sessions of Rhode Island purchased 
the property, and occasionally occupied it as a summer 
residence." 

Gambrel Roof House. 

Putnam Heights. Built in 1774, and said to be still in 
good preservation. 

The Old Cady House. 

East Putnam City. This is the oldest datable house east 
of the Ouinnebaug. Built in 1719. Its second owner 
was Deputy Governor Derius Sessions of Rhode Island. 
It was a place of much resort during the Revolution. 

Miss Ellen Lamed in letter dated March 22d, 189J. 



—25— 

Putnam s Wolf Den. 

Pomfret. In March, 1895, a bill was introduced into the 
Connecticut legislature, by Representative Warner, of 
Windham, which provided for the appropriation of $2,500 
for the purchase of a tract of land to be laid out for a 
public park of fifty acres, the famous Wolf Den being 
included. 

On February 21st, 1896, there was organized at the office 
of Judge Warner "The Putnam Wolf Den Association." 
W. Grosvenor, President ; Judge E. M. Warner, Secre- 
tary ; J. H. Carpenter, Treasurer, and an Executive Com- 
mittee were named, and a vote passed to raise by sub- 
scription $2,500 to purchase eighty acres of land, including 
the Putnam Wolf Den. 

Harris House. 

Pomfret. Washington staid here while in Pomfret. The 
date of this visit was Saturday, November 7th, 1789. 
Washington came from Uxbridge via Thompson, and 
was accompanied by Major Jackson and Secretary Lear. 
These gentlemen rode with the President in the state 
carriage, and a retinue of four servants followed on 
horseback. The Tavern was kept by a Mr. Grosvenor. 
Connecticut Quarterly, Vol. II, No. 1, page 20, foot note. 

Daniel's Mills. 

Pomfret. The mill site on the Quinnebaug had .... 
changed owners. In 1760 the land between the Quinne- 
baug and the Mill rivers, with the privilege of the falls, 
mills, dwelling house, malt house, dye house, and all their 
appurtenances, was sold by Nathaniel Daniels to Benja- 
min Cargill, of South Kingston, R. I., a descendant of 
the Rev. Donald Cargill, of Scotland. Mr. Cargill at 
once took possession of his purchase, and by his shrewd- 
ness and good management so improved the business 
facilities that " Cargill's Mills " soon became a noted 
place of resort for all the surrounding country, malting, 
dyeing, and grinding for parts of Pomfret, Woodstock, 
Killingly and Thompson parish. 

History of Windham County, Vol. II, page 2. 



— 26— 

First Settlers at Quinnatisset. 

Thompson. The first settler was one Eleazer Spalding, 
of Woodstock, who without purchase or license took 
possession of land laid out to Josiah Cotton on the 
Quinnebaug, and occupied it for many years, in spite of 
remonstrance and attempted ejection. 

The first regular dateable settler within the limits of the 
present Thompson, was Richard Dressier, of Rowley, who, 
after a year's trial of the new settlement at Mash-a-moguet, 
purchased of Captain John Chandler in 1707 for ^120, 
"the place called Nashaway." This name, originally 
designated the point of land between the Quinnebaug 
and the French rivers, was extended to the land west of 
this point on which Mr. Dressier settled. The road from 
Woodstock to Providence passed near his dwelling, which 
was a little south of the site of the present West Thomp- 
son village. 

Richard Dressier married Mary Peabody, of Rowley, in 
1708, and their son Jacob, born in 17 10, was the first 
male white child born within the Thompson territory. 
In 1708 Richard Dressier sold the "land between the 
rivers to Sampson Howe, of Roxbury, who took immedi- 
ate possession, and was at once claimed as a resident of 
the Killingly, becoming one of its prominent and useful 
citizens. 

History of Windham County, Vol. II, page 174. 

Jacobs' Tavern. 

East Thompson. " Half Way House " between Boston 
and Hartford. 

Washington on his tour in 1789 speaks of breakfasting 
at "one Jacobs." 

Chargoggagoggmanchogaggogg Pond. 

In the towns of Thompson and Webster, Mass. It is said 
to be 60 miles in circumference, if followed in all its 
indentations. It is studied with islands, and was consid- 
ered the paradise of the Nipmucks and their women. 
There fish and game were in abundance, and there, they 
believed, were the enchanted islands and Elysian Fields, 
the abode of the departed souls and the residence of the 
Great Spirit. 

Connecticut Historical Collections, page 442. 



—27— 

Trinity Church. 

Brooklyn. Built through the efforts of Godfrey Malbone 
in 1771. It was called " Malbone's Church. Rev. John 
Tyler, who was the church missionary at Norwich, offici- 
ated at the opening of the new edifice on April 12th, 17 7 1 . 
It is memorable as the first dedication service held in 
Windham County. 

General Putnam's Monument. 

In the grave yard at Brooklyn. The inscription was 
written by President Dwight of Yale College. 
This Monument is erected to the memory of the Honor- 
able Israel Putnam, Esq., Major General in the Armies of 
the United States of America ; who was born at Salem, 
in the Province of Massachusetts, on the 7th day of Janu- 
ary, 1 7 18 ; and died at Brooklyn, in the State of Connec- 
ticut on the 19th day of May, A. D. 1790. Passenger, if 
thou art a Soldier, go not away till thou hast dropped a 
tear over the dust of a Hero, who, ever tenderly attentive 
to the lives and happiness of his men, dared to lead where 
any one dared to follow. If thou art a Patriot, remem- 
ber with gratitude how much thou and thy country owe 
to the disinterested and galent exertions of the Patriot 
who sleeps beneath this marble. If thou art honest, 
generous and worthy man render a sincere and cheerful 
tribute of respect to a man whose generosity was singu- 
lar ; whose honesty was proverbial ; and who with slender 
education, with small advantages, and without friends 
raised himself to universal esteem, and to offices of emi- 
nent distinction, by personal worth, and diligent service 
of a useful life. 

Colonel Godfrey Malbone Monument. 

Brooklyn. The inscription was written by John Bowers 
of Newport, R. I. 

Sacred be this marble to the memory of Godfrey Malbone, 
who was born at Newport, R. I., September 3rd 1724 and 
died at his Seat in this town November 12th 1785. Uncom- 
mon natural Abilities, improved and embellished by an 
Education at the University of Oxford, a truly amiable 
disposition, an inflexible integrity of Heart, the most 
frank Sincerity in Conversation, a Disdain of every 
Species of Hypocricy and Dissimulation, joined to man- 



—28— 

ners perfectly easy and engaging, nobly marked his 
character and rendered him a real Blessing to all around 
him. That he was a friend of Religion this Church of 
which he was the Founder testifies : as do all indeed who 
knew him that he practiced every virtue requisite to adorn 
and dignify Human Life. 

The First Patent issued to a woman in the United States. 

Mrs. Mary Kies of South Killingly invented " a new and 
useful improvement in weaving straw with silk or thread" 
for which she asked and obtained a patent in May, 1809, 
being the first patent ever issued to any woman in the 
United States. Mrs. President Madison expressed her 
gratification by a very complimentary note to Mrs. Kies. 

The Old Stone House Factory. 

Built in 1 814 about a mile southeast from Killingly Hill. 
It is now known as " Daniel's Mills," having passed into 
the hands of the Daniels afterwards. Its first occupant 
was David Howe. It was burned down early in the war. 
It is now a picturesque ruin covered with ivy, filled up 
with trees, and a waterfall pouring through the arch. 
It is fast falling to pieces. 

Miss Ellen D. Lamed, in letter dated March 2 2d, 1897. 



NEW LONDON. 

The Union School. 

Here Nathan Hale taught. It was a red house, " now 
opposite the Otis House, but then on the site of the 
Crocker House." 

Rev. Edward IV. Bacon. 

The Avery Homestead. 

The first meeting-house. The first worship was in a barn, 
but it was not thought decent to continue this longer than 
absolutely needful, so on December, 1652, ,£14 were set 
aside for the meetinghouse, which was built on the lofty 
ridge where now stands the Bulkeley School, just north 
of the grave yard. In 1684 " The Watch Tower in the 
Wilderness" was found too small, and it was sold to 
Captain Avery for $6. He moved it across the river to 
Poquonnoc, where a century later it was used as a house 



—2 9 — 

of worship by Elder Parks Avery, leader of the Separatists. 
With numerous additions it was the family homestead of 
the Avery family until it was burned July 21st, 1894. A 
beautiful monument, erected by the Avery Memorial 
Association, .... marks the site. 

Connecticut Quarterly, No. 1, of i£<?7, page 17. 

Winthrop Mansion and Mill. 

Mill built in 1650 by John Winthrop, the house by John 
Sill Winthrop, a descendant, in 1750, on an elevated site 
surrounded with trees. 

The General Burbeck House. 

Erected in 1735. Purchased by General Burbeck in 1815. 
He was born at Boston, June 8th, 1754, and was an 
artillery officer in the Revolution, and became a Brigadier 
General in the War of 1812. He died at New London, 
October 2d, 1848. The house is now known as No. 32 
Main street. In front are four elm trees known as the 
"Four Sisters," planted in 181 2 by James Baxter, and 
named after his four daughters, Catharine, Sophia, Sarah 
and Johanna. 

The Seidell House. 

" The Red Lion," now No. 59 Main street. It was occu- 
pied by Captain Nathaniel Coit, the grandfather of the 
late R. N. Belden. In 1756 Washington, at that time 24 
years of age, spent a night here both on going and on 
returning from Boston. He had with him two officers 
and three colored servants. At the most earnest solicita- 
tion of Molly Coit, the house was spared at the time of 
the Arnold invasion, because her father was laying sick 
there then. 

The Mather Byles House. 

Built in 1758 by Mather Byles, who was a grandson of 
Increase Mather. He was the pastor of the First Congre- 
gational Church until 1768, in which year he conveyed 
the house to Dr. Moffatt, the English Collector of the 
Customs. 

The Hempstead House. 

One of the few houses spared at the destruction of New 
London by Arnold. It was erected in 1643 by Joshua 
Hempstead. 



— 3 o— 

The Fox Tavern, 

Now No. 49 Main street. The house was built before 
the Revolution, but the date is uncertain. Ezekiel Fox 
gave the name and the character to the place. It had a 
swinging sign with a representation of a fox grasping 
for a bunch of grapes. Mr. Fox died in 1844 at the age 
of 88 years. 

The Winthrop Monument. 

The site was chosen with peculiar fitness, for he named 
the ridge " Meeting-house Hill," within as tone's throw of 
the tomb he built. The laying of the corner-stone was 
also the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the city. 
The ceremony was set for ten o'clock on May 6th, 1896. 
The Masonic ceremonies were under the direction of 
Grand Master Welsh of Connecticut. The school boys 
sang tributes to Winthrop by the direct inheritor of the 
first meeting-house, the pastor, Rev. Mr. Blake. Mr. A. 
H. Chappell, president of the Board of Trade, introduced 
Mr. Lawrence, the donor of the monument, as the gift of 
his brother, the late Francis W. Lawrence, and himself, 
to the memory of their father, Joseph Lawrence, and the 
soldiers and sailors of New London. Mayor Johnston 
accepted the gift, and then General Hawley delivered an 
oration. 

Groton Monument. 

Erected by the State of Connecticut to commemorate 
those who fell in the massacre at Fort Griswold on Sep- 
tember 6th, 1 78 1, when the British under the command of 
the traitor Benedict Arnold burned New London and 
Groton. 

Groton Monument House. 

Adjacent to the monument grounds. The house was 
restored and occupied by Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, 
D. A. R., and opened on the 113th anniversary of the 
battle. 

The Avery House. 

Built in 1770 by Elder Park Avery for his son Ebenezer. 
It was used as a hospital for the wounded of the battle of 
Groton Heights. 



—3i— 

SAYBROOK. 

The Lady Fenwick Monument. 

She was the wife of Col. Fenwick (Lady Anne Botcler, or 
Butler). She died in 1648. During the summer of 1639 
Col. Fenwick, in charge of two ships, arrived at the 
mouth of the Connecticut, accompanied by several gentle- 
men, who brought with them a number of servants and 
laborers to aid in the further building up of Saybrook. 
This colony was entirely distinct from either New Haven 
or Connecticut, and administered its own affairs until 
1644, when it was purchased by Connecticut, the sale 
being ratified by the General Court on February 4th, 
1645. 

Hart Monument. 

Erected to the memory of Major General William Hart, 
at Saybrook Point, near the site of the first building used 
by Yale College. General Hart was the son of the Rev. 
William Hart, of Saybrook, and was born June 24th, 1746, 
and died August 29th, 181 7. 

Saybrook Fort. 

Erected by Governor John Winthrop in 1635. There is 

no monument marking its site. 
Yale College. 

The first building was eighty feet long and one story high. 

Fifteen commencements were held at Saybrook. There 

is nothing to mark its site. 



NEW LONDON COUNTY. 

Miantonomo Monument. 

Near Greenville. In 1841 William C. Gillman and his 
associates invited Judge Shipman to go to " Sachem's 
Plain " and point out the spot where "the great pile ot 
stones heaped up by the Narragansetts marked the grave 
of their chieftain." On the 4th of July a company of 
women, boys and girls of the " Cold Water Army " 
assembled when the monument was first exhibited, 
addresses were made, and Thomas Sterry Hunt, a Norwich 
School Boy, poured a bucket full of water over the 
granite block. 



—32— 

Indian Burying Ground. 

Essex. An aboriginal settlement once existed at Ayer's 
Point, and along the shore from there to Potapaug Point 
about the year 1636. These Indians were either Pequots 
or some akin to them. They gave, it is said, to the 
English the right to the river and the bordering lands. 
Within a month or so Indian remains have been dis- 
covered upon these lands : arrows, pestles, axes and other 
implements, and a skeleton in a sitting posture. 

Pettipaug Point. 

An attack was made by the British, on April 8th, 18 14, in 
two launches under the command of Lieutenant Coote, 
and four barges and a force of perhaps 300 men. When 
the landing was made the people were utterly unprepared 
to receive them, and could offer but little resistance. 
Twenty-two vessels were destroyed, and considerable 
other property, entailing a loss of $160,000. Some forces 
was collected to prevent their return to the fleet, but the 
night following was very dark and they escaped with the 
loss of only a few men killed or wounded. 

Lorenzo Dow House. 

Montville. Lorenzo Dow was born at Coventry, Octo- 
ber 16th, 1777. He married Peggy Miller, September 3d, 
1804. She died at Hebron, January 6th, 1820. He after- 
wards married, at Montville, Lucy Dolbeare, daughter of 
George B. Dolbeare, and settled at Montville, where he 
became a farmer. He was perhaps one of the most noted 
itinerant evangelists that has ever preached in our country. 
There is hardly a town or even hamlet existing at the 
time he lived that he did not visit and preach. He crossed 
the ocean several times and preached in Ireland. He 
died at Alexandria, Va., February 2d, 1834. His wife died 
October 26th, 1863. 

The Samson Occom House. 

Montville. About half a mile north of the Mohegan 
Chapel. Samson Occom was a Mohegan Indian, born 
about 1723. He became a Christian at the age of 18 and 
studied under the Rev. Dr. Wheelock. He was ordained, 
August 29th, 1757, and was employed as a missionary 
among the Six Nations. In 1786 with the Muhheakanock 
Indians he moved to New York, and was the first minister 
at Brothertown. He died July 1792. 



— 33— 

Uncas Monument. 

There is a claim before the present Legislature in behalf 
of the Mohegan Indians for certain lands in Norwich in 
the vicinity of the Uncas Monument. There are no 
Mohegan Indians of more than half blood; they ceased 
to be wards of the State about twenty years ago, and 
placed themselves on the same footing as other citizens. 
I think the claim rather weak, though I have not investi- 
gated it. 

Hon. Jonathan Trumbull, of Norwich, in letter dated March 
pth, 1897. 

Monument to John Mason, Hero of the Pequot War. 

He was born in England about 1600. He served in the 
Netherlands under Sir Thomas Fairfax. He was one of 
first settlers at Dorchester, Mass., being one of the com- 
pany of Mr. Warham in 1630. He moved to Windsor in 
1635 and took part in the founding of the new colony. 
The Pequot Indians or Pequods, an Algonquin tribe 
originally a part of the Hudson River Mohegans (it is 
thought), occupied a tract of land near the Niantic River, 
and with their principal fort at Mystic. They made 
themselves troublesome to the English. Endicot and 
Gardner led expeditions against them, and they retaliated 
by an attack on Wethersfield, in April, 1637. In May of 
that year Capt. John Mason, on the orders of the General 
Court that met at Hartford, led a party of 90 men with 
the Rev. Mr. Stone as chaplain, and Uncas with a num- 
ber of his Indians, for an attack upon their stronghold at 
Mystic. The attack was successful, the Pequots were 
driven out and their stronghold destroyed. Another 
stand was made at the Sisco Swamp, near Fairfield, and 
here the tribe was practically annihilated. 
Major Mason moved to Saybrook, and then to Norwich, 
where he died, January 30th, 1672, at the age of 73 years. 
He left three sons, Samuel, John, Daniel. The monu- 
ment is supposed to be over his remains, but there is no 
certainty of the fact. 

The Huntington House. 

Supposed to have been built about 200 years ago by 
Christopher Huntington. Five generations of Hunting- 
tons have been born here, but now the property is in the 
hands of other people. 

Lore. 



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LEBANON. 



Governor Trumbull's Residence. 

Jonathan Trumbull was the only one of the royal gover- 
nors who embraced the cause of the colonies, and to his 
energy and efficiency very much of the success of the war 
must be accredited. This house, it is supposed, was built 
about 1730 by the father of Governor Trumbull. In 1882 
it was owned by the heirs of Daniel Mason. Under this 
roof has been lodged Washington, LaFayette, Dr. Frank- 
lin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Israel Putnam, 
and many others. 

Jonathan Trumbull's Tomb. 

The tomb of Gov. Trumbull is at Lebanon, and there too 
are buried his sons Joseph, First Commissary General of 
the Continental Army, Jonathan, Governor of Con- 
necticut, and the first Governor's son-in-law, William 
Williams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. 
Inscriptions of course mark the graves, and the tombs 
are kept in order from the income of a fund held in trust 
by our society (Sons of the American Revolution), and 
contributed by members of the Trumbull family. 

Hon. Jonathan Trumbull, of Norwich, in letter dated March 
gth, 1897. 

Jonathan Trumbull's War Office. 

June 17th, 1896, the Sons of the American Revolution 
unveiled a tablet of bronze in the "Old War Office." 
General Samuel E. Merwin, of New Haven, gave the 
address. 

In the afternoon an address of welcome was given by 
Hon. Isaac Gillett, and responded to by Jonathan Trum- 
bull, President of the S. A. R. The tablet was unveiled 
by Mrs. E. B. Avery, of Lebanon. An address followed 
by the Rev. Richard H. Nelson of Norwich. 
The tablet is a parallelogram 22 X 36 inches and cost 
$400. The inscription is : 

1775 LEBANON WAR OFFICE 1783. 
During the War of the Revolution, Governor Trumbull 
and the Council of Safety held more than eleven hundred 
meetings in this building, and here also came many dis- 



—35— 

tinguished officers of the Continental Army and French 
allies. Their monument is more enduring than bronze. 
Erected by the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the 
American Revolution, 1896. 

The scroll at the left of this inscription bears the names 
of "Trumbull, Griswold, Dyer, Jabez, Samuel, and 
Benjamin Huntington, Williams, Wales, Elderkin and 
West, the members of the original Council of Safety, 
appointed by the Assembly in 1777. On the scroll at the 
right are the names of the Colonial officers who are 
believed to have met in the " War office." These are 
Washington, Putnam, Knox, Parsons, Huntington, Spen- 
cer, LaFayette, Rochambeau, Chastellux and de Lauzun. 

Connecticut Quarterly, Vol. II, No. J, page jo6. 
The property was purchased by the Society of the Sons 
of the American Revolution, and repaired at a cost of 
$1,200. 
The French at Lebanon. 

Lauzun's legion was obliged, owing to want of provis- 
ions, to part with his cavalry, which was sent with the 
horses of the artillery and of the baggage into the for- 
ests of Connecticut, eighty miles from Newport. The 
government of that province had had barracks erected at 
Lebanon to lodge her militia. There it was that the 
Duke de Lauzun had to establish his winter quarters. 
He started on November the 10th, not without regret at 
leaving Newport, and especially the Hunter family, among 
whom he had been received and treated as a relation. . . . 

The 15th he stopped with his hussars at Windham 

Siberia alone, if we may believe Lauzun, can be compared 
to Lebanon, which consisted of but a few cabins scattered 
through immense forests. He was obliged to remain 
there until January nth, 1781. 

The French in America, Vol. I, pages 128 and I2Q. 
In Lebanon, the site of the oven where the cooking for 
the French troops was done, is determined by excavations 
made last summer, revealing the foundations. The 
"barracks lot," so called, is located with reasonable cer- 
tainty. 

Hon. Jonathan Trumbull, in letter dated Norwich, Alarch 

Qth, 1897. 



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THE INDIANS. 

At the meeting of the United Committees, the subject 
of preserving the old Indian names was considered. It 
comes within the province of the work of our committees. 
DeForest mentions the following tribes as occupying or 
roaming over the State of Connecticut : Pequot, Quinni- 
piac, Tunxis, Hammonesset, Podunks, Mohawks, Paugussets, 
Wepawaugs, Potatucks, Nehautoes, Nepmucks. There ap- 
pear to be 36 towns that have Indian names, 6 lakes, 13 rivers, 
7 ponds, besides the mountains and hills, which are not enu- 
merated on the back of the maps. 

The Pequo't Indians alone up to this time have been noted 
by the Committee ; doubtless there are some remains that will 
call to remembrance the other tribes. 

De Forest says (page 58) : "The territory claimed by the 
Pequots, as their own peculiar dwelling place, may be esti- 
mated at thirty miles in length by fifteen or twenty miles in 
breadth, or about five hundred square miles." " From the 
Niantic river, on the west, their forts and wigwams extended 
along the rude stony hills of New London County to Weca- 
paug, ten miles east of the Paucatuc river, which divides 
Connecticut from Rhode Island. They reached back, also, to 
a considerable distance from the seashore, their northernmost 
community, afterwards known as the Mohegans, residing on 
the banks of the Thames, ten or twelve miles from the Sound. 
Their sachems were Tamaquashad, the first mentioned, Muck- 
quant-do-was, who lived at a place called Awcumbucks, 
YVoipequand, who became sachem on the death of his father, 
(Meek-un-ump, who married Oweneco the father of Uncas, 
was his daughter). Woipequand married a daughter of 
Wekousen, chief sachem of the Narragansetts, and when he 
died, was succeeded by his son Wopigwooit, who had a son 
Sassacus, who was the most famous of the Pequot sachems. 
Uncas, the son of Oweneco, married in 1626 a daughter of 
Sassacus, and because one of the most remarkable characters 
in the history of the Indian tribes of the State. Uncas died 
in 1683 or 1684, but the exact time appears to be wanting ; he 
is supposed to have been about 80 years old. His wigwam 
was upon a commanding site three-quarters of a mile south- 
east of the Mohegan chapel, on what is now called Uncas 



-37- 

Hill. The land where the house stood is now or was lately- 
owned by Captain Jerome W. Williams, having been con- 
veyed in 1858 to N. B. Bradford, Esq., by the overseer of the 
tribe, Dr. S. C. Maynard, by a decree of the Superior Court, 
upon the petition of the members of the tribe then holding 
the land. 

Oweneco, a son of Uncas, commanded a party of Mohegans 
in an expedition with Captain Dennison and Avery against 
the Narragansetts. 

Pequot attack on Wethersfield. 

A horseman who was riding near Wethersfield, discovered 
a body of Indians approaching the place with apparent 
designs of making an attack ; he rode to the place and 
notified some women whom he saw, but they failed to 
appreciate the warning. The savages attacked the place 
suddenly ; the women attempted to escape, three were 
however captured ; two were girls and permitted them- 
selves to be carried away without resistance, but the other 
fought so hard that the Indians dashed her brains out, 
they killed two other women and six men, destroyed 
twenty cows, injured considerable property besides. 

Porter s Rocks. 

These " two large rocks "...." are situated about two 
miles northeast of the spot where stood the Pequot fort, 
and half a mile north of a village in Stonington, called 
'Head of Mystic.'" 

De Forest's History of the Connecticut Indians, page 129. 
This place is said to be the site of the camp of Mason 
and his party on the night before the attack on the 
Pequot stronghold at Mystic. 

The attack and victory at Mystic. 

The assault was made at early morning, Mason leading 
one party to the northeast side, and Captain Underhill 
another party toward the other entrance. When within 
a rod of the Fort a dog barked and an Indian called 
out, " Owanux ! Owanux ! " (Englishmen ! Englishmen !) 
They opened fire through the palisadoes and came to the 
entrance, which was blocked up with bushes breast high. 
Mason climbed over these and made an entrance. Lieut. 
Seeley pulled the bushes out of the way and the party 



-38- 

gained an entrance. It was a hand to hand fight, the 
Indians fleeing to shelter and firing upon them therefrom. 
Mason now said, "We must burn them," and going into 
a wigwam, he brought out a firebrand and set fire to the 
mats with which they were covered. There was consider- 
able wind, and the fire spread rapidly from wigwam to 
wigwam. The Indians were now in great terror ; they 
attempted to fly, many running into the flames and perish- 
ing there. Capt. Underhill went to the entrance on the 
southwest side, where they made a pause. Mr. Hedge 
attempted to enter the gate, where he was opposed by an 
Indian, but he was killed by a Sergeant Davis, and Mr. 
Hedge and some others got into the Fort, but the smoke 
and flames were so violent that they were driven out by 
them. In little more than an hour the impregnable Fort 
was destroyed and six or seven hundred killed. There 
were seven taken prisoners and seven escaped. All the 
Indian allies except Odkos (Uncas) deserted. This 
action was on Friday, May 26th, 1637. 

Mason s Brief History of the Pcquot War. 

Extermination of the Pequots. 

Thursday, July 13th, 1637. The Indians had secreted 
themselves in a swamp, where Fairfield now stands, in 
Connecticut ; when some of the rangers who were in 
pursuit of them discovering their lurking place, rushed 
in upon them, in defiance of their arrows and the hazzard 
of being swallowed up in the swamp. After a fruitless 
parley, the Indians refusing to come to terms, the soldiers 
Avere ordered to cut through the swamp with their swords 
in order to hem them in, till they were begirt in a narrow 
space and remained all night sorely galled by the fire of 
their besiegers. Taking advantage of the dense fog, 
some of the stoutest made their escape, leaving the rest 
to the mercy of their conquerors. They were discovered 
in the morning sitting in crowds, sullenly refusing to ask 
for their lives, and were shot by the dozens or cut to 
pieces. The male children which were taken were sent 
to the Bermudas, and the females distributed to the Eng- 
lish towns. This overthrow of a great and powerful 
nation, cast a terror upon the arms of the colonists, 
which brought other tribes to a lasting peace. 

Every Day Book, Munscll, page 274. 



—39— 

The Pequot Swamp was, until 1835, a natural curiosity of 
the town. It was so named from the famous swamp fight 
between the New Englanders and the Pequots, which will 
ever make it remarkable in the annals of local history. 
The rise of ground in its center, which had the appearance 
of an artificial mound, was a natural hill. It was for a 
long time supposed to be the work of the Indians, and 
filled with their graves ; but when Pequot avenue wa s 
opened in 1835, it became necessary to make a passage 
through it. This was done by tunneling through the 
center, as the ground was frozen hard. Most of the men 
of the place were sea captains, who employed their leisure 
hours in the winter in making this excavation. They 
found but one Indian skeleton, and to their surprise dis- 
covered, by the different strata of earth, that the supposed 
mound was a natural hill. The open hill for many years 
formed walls on either side of the road, which are now 
leveled, so that only a faint vestige of the hill is seen. 
This historic swamp lies northwest of the residence of 
. Hon. Jonathan Godfrey, of Southport, and only a few 
rods west of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- 
road, which crosses Pequot avenue. 

History of Fairfield (Mrs. Schenck), page 7. 

Fort Hill, near Thompson. 

Said to have been the site of a fort of the Nipmuck 
Indians. Quinnatisset, one of the chiefs, had a splendid 
wigwam near where the present Congregational Church 
in Thompson stands. The foundations of the fort it is 
still possible to trace. 






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